Neither the BRICS bloc nor the Belt and Road Initiative are free trade zones, although what BRICS does potentially provides a common forum through which other free trade agreements can be negotiated. The importance that the BRICS have and their planned actions almost certainly mean that it is a platform to launch this – and the declaration of the BRICS 2019 Of Brasilia expressed exactly this scenario. Three members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) – Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana – signed an Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union on 4 June 2009. The agreement will allow CDAA countries access to EU markets, while the parties negotiate a permanent EPA. The revised EPA rules of origin improve the conditions under which Lesotho can trade large exports to Europe, such as textiles. Lesotho producers also benefit from the sale of tariff and quota products to the United States of America under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a U.S. initiative that has created preferential trade conditions for a number of African-made products for the U.S. market. 1. A contracting party cannot separately enter into or modify a trade agreement with a country outside the common customs territory, without the prior agreement of the other contracting parties and under the conditions agreed by the contracting parties, under which concessions to the customs duties in force on the common customs territory are granted.

2. A contracting party may separately enter into or modify a trade agreement with a country outside the common customs territory that is not mentioned in a trade agreement with a country outside the common customs territory, provided that the provisions of such an agreement or amendment are in no way in conflict with the provisions of this agreement. This party makes available to any other party a copy of the agreement or amendment as soon as possible after the agreement or amendment has been concluded. 3) (a) A contracting party that has entered into an agreement with a country outside the common customs territory which provides for the importation of goods into its territory at tariff rates lower than those applicable to similar goods on the common customs territory collects the customs duties payable on imports into its territory. b) Unless the parties agree otherwise with respect to such an agreement, where these goods are to be withdrawn from the territory of that contracting party to the area of one of the other contracting parties, the customs duties in force on the common customs territory are payable and the contracting party from which these goods must be withdrawn from the territory from which these goods are to be withdrawn , before this elimination, to perceive the differences between lower and existing tariffs. If the customs evidence cannot be proven in the area where the goods are then transported, the goods are forfeited. c) All tariffs and differences in duties are paid to the South Africa Consolidated Revenue Fund. All payments made by this contracting party under this agreement with a country outside the common customs area are made on its behalf by the Consolidated Revenue Fund. SACU is the Second largest trading partner of the United States in Africa, after Nigeria, whose exports are almost exclusively petroleum products. In total, SACU is the 33rd largest trading partner of the United States.

Imports from SACU amounted to $10.0 billion in 2007, an increase of 33% over 2005 and an increase of 169% over 19974.